Liverpool, West Derby
Labour hold

Due to depopulation, Liverpool's representation has been almost halved since 1964, from nine to five MPs, and it has utterly changed in nature. Before 1964 a majority, five, of those members were Conservative; now none are. In West Derby, Conservative from 1945 when it elected the future Home Secretary Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, the Tory finished fourth with a share which would have lost the deposit in that hanger's day, behind both Liberal Democrat and separate Liberal party candidates. The reasons are general and specific; the national and regional swing to New Labour; the unemployment and economic decline of Liverpool; redevelopment and the building of new council estates on this eastern edge of the city like Gillmoss and Dovecot joining inter-war Norris Green (though private estates have appeared too, as luridly dramatised on Brookside, which is clearly set in this seat); and finally the utter extinction of the old working class Orange Protestant Tory vote, which was an atavistic reaction against Irish Roman Catholicism in the city's highly sectarian past.

Robert (Bob) Wareing, once mocked for his resemblance to Charlie Drake, is the least Blairite of Liverpool’s politically-sanitised MPs as a Campaign Group member, and was the only Labour MP out of 418 who failed to be automatically re-selected in 1999/2000. Of Dickensian cherubic looks, he was originally elected in 1983 as a leftwing replacement for right-winger Eric Ogden, but was himself to become a target of hard left Militant. Born locally in 1930, and educated at Alsop High School, Bolton College of Education and, extramurally, London University, he was initially a clerk before becoming a further education lecturer. Out of step with the Blair government in his support for Serbia, he was suspended for non-registration of a Serbian business connection, and has rebelled liberally on lone parent benefit cuts, military action against Iraq, classifying freedom-fighting exiles as terrorists, the Prime Minister’s powers to nominate life peers, the bombing of Serbia and Kosovo, disability benefit cuts, and air traffic control privatisation.

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 1.66% 14.99% 11.07 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.00% 2.13% 0.00 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 0.00% 2.49% 0.00 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 7.56% 4.43% 170.83 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 3.91% 7.27% 53.78 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 0.46% 2.56% 18.00 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 0.00% 2.04% 0.00 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 2.21% 3.94% 56.16 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 9.43% 13.04% 72.30 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 12.82% 12.70% 100.96 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 2.68% 8.14% 32.95 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 1.27% 4.02% 31.53 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 1.65% 3.19% 51.74 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 48.30% 11.31% 427.03 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 1.70% 3.06% 55.43 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 6.34% 2.52% 251.85 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 16.04% 9.41% 170.44 £5-10K 22.60% 16.63% 135.89 £10-15K 18.58% 16.58% 112.08 £15-20K 13.04% 13.58% 96.02 £20-25K 8.83% 10.39% 84.93 £25-30K 5.98% 7.77% 76.89 £30-35K 4.10% 5.79% 70.77 £35-40K 2.85% 4.33% 65.88 £40-45K 2.02% 3.27% 61.82 £45-50K 1.45% 2.48% 58.35 £50-55K 1.05% 1.90% 55.31 £55-60K 0.78% 1.47% 52.61 £60-65K 0.58% 1.15% 50.17 £65-70K 0.43% 0.91% 47.96 £70-75K 0.33% 0.72% 45.94 £75-80K 0.25% 0.57% 44.09 £80-85K 0.20% 0.46% 42.38 £85-90K 0.15% 0.37% 40.80 £90-95K 0.12% 0.31% 39.34 £95-100K 0.09% 0.25% 37.98 £100K + 0.42% 1.34% 31.39